Islamic Jihad: Truce Deal With Israel Next Monday

Terror group says an agreement will be signed at the end of the current ceasefire, confirms Israeli concessions.

Ari Yashar, 15/08/14 14:59

Islamic Jihad terrorist

Flash 90

An Islamic Jihad spokesperson on Friday claimed that a truce deal with Israel will be signed as soon the current five-day ceasefire ends next Monday at midnight.

"We expect a complete truce agreement to be signed right as the five-day ceasefire ends. The delegation has made much progress in ending the siege and the offensive on Palestinians," Yousef al-Hasayneh told the Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency.

Al-Hasayneh said that the current ceasefire extension was agreed to on Wednesday night to give the Egyptian intermediaries time to remove "technical issues" blocking a final agreement.

The Islamic Jihad terrorist confirmed numerous reports that the proposed truce deal would ease the blockade on Gaza, expand the naval fishing zone, and allow construction materials into the Hamas terror enclave. He also confirmed that discussion on the issue of a sea and airport in Gaza would be postponed for a month after the agreement.

While US President Barack Obama's government has reportedly been pressuring Israel to agree to a truce deal, al-Hasayneh said "we, as the Islamic Jihad, are not interested in American sponsorship because we do not trust the United States, the partner of Israel, who supplies them with arms and money."

In fact, Obama's administration recently blocked a missile shipment to Israel according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday night, and ordered greater scrutiny on future weapons transfers.

According to the Islamic Jihad spokeperson's appraisal of an imminent truce deal, apparently the pressure has worked. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly met with ministers on Tuesday for "softening talks" to gain support for Israeli concessions.

Al-Hasayneh concluded by emphasizing his terrorist group would "respond to any Israeli attack."

The statements come after Islamic Jihad second-in-command Ziad Nahala said Friday the war with Israel is "behind us," adding "we have no choice but to reach a truce agreement."

"The great destruction caused by the war obligates us to leave this (war) status," said Nahala. The night before, he claimed thatEgypt talked Israel out of its security demands to disarm Gaza, end the smuggling into the Hamas enclave and the local weapons production, as well as have the terror tunnels disclosed.

However, another senior Islamic Jihad terrorist, Halad al-Batash, said Thursday night that his organization may embark on a long-term ceasefire even if a long-term truce deal is not reached with Israel.

The statement roughly mirrors that of Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), who on Friday pushed for a unilateral end of the Gaza operation without an agreement with Hamas, accompanied by several Israeli concessions and an essential return to the status quo.